In a fresh outbreak of communal violence in Kandhamal district, suspected saffron activists on Wednesday targeted two churches and 10 houses mostly belonging to Christians, injuring 11 people while tribal Christians set afire a Government office.The saffron activists torched a police station at Phiringia, one of the violence-hit areas in Kandhamal, Director-General of Police Gopal Nanda said.Two churches came under attack in Kalinga and Tikabali on Wednesday evening but there was no immediate report of casualties from there, police sources said.Four houses were set ablaze in Brakhama in the wee hours on Wednesday and stones were pelted, leaving 11 people injured, the sources said.About half-a-dozen houses belonging to Christians were attacked and residents were threatened by unidentified persons in Jaleshpata, they said.On the other hand, tribal Christians set a revenue department office on fire in Khajuripada during a 36-hour bandh they enforced to press for Scheduled Tribe status for them.The Hindu Jagaran Sammukhya, a religious organisation, alleged that three temples were attacked at Jaleshpata and Baliguda in the Tumundibandh area. However, the claim of attack on temples was not confirmed by officials.Curfew remained in place in the four sensitive towns of Baliguda, Daringibadi, Brahmanigaon and Phulbani, which witnessed communal violence, and there was no report of fresh trouble from there, Revenue Divisional Commissioner Satyabrata Sahu said. The fresh communal violence came a day after six churches were attacked in the district on Tuesday in a backlash to the assault on VHP leader Laxmananda Saraswati who led a movement against conversion in the district.Prohibitory orders have been clamped in the entire district, Home Secretary T K Mishra said adding that the situation was under control even as sporadic violence took place during the day.Sahu claimed that the situation was gradually improving but did not rule out sporadic violence in villages which remained out of the purview of curfew.
